A Kalispell man, allegedly caught drunkenly driving a stolen truck late last month, told officers he had climbed into the vehicle in the hopes of warming up.  

Mitchell Ray Odom, 63, faces a felony count of theft of a light vehicle and a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence, third offense, in Flathead County District Court in connection with the alleged Nov. 30 theft. He pleaded not guilty before Judge Danni Coffman on Dec. 4.  

The pickup truck's owner told Kalispell Police officers that he had started his pickup to let it warm up and then ducked back inside the U.S. 2 bar to wait, according to court documents. Told that someone was hanging around his rig, the victim exited in time to see his pickup reversing out of the parking spot.  

Running over to the truck, the victim narrowly missed getting struck as it was driven out of the parking lot, court documents said. He alerted the authorities to the theft around 12:30 a.m., according to court documents.  

An officer spotted the truck heading north on the U.S. 93 Bypass and exiting at Four Mile Drive. After pulling the truck over, the officer ordered the driver — identified as Odom — out of the vehicle, court documents said.  

Odom allegedly admitted he was not the truck’s owner and didn't know who owned it. He said he hopped inside to get warm, according to court documents. Odom allegedly acknowledged that no one gave him permission to get into the truck and that he was several miles from where he originally found it.  

When the officer noted smelling the odor of alcohol on Odom, the 63-year-old refused to participate in a field sobriety test, according to court documents.  

"No, we are not doing this," Odom allegedly said. "I'm drunk. It's stupid." 

Repeatedly insisting he was drunk, Odom agreed to give officers a breath sample, court documents said. It returned with a breath alcohol content of 0.206, court documents alleged.  

A check of Odom's criminal history found two prior driving under the influence convictions, one in 2009 and the other in 2017.  

If convicted of felony theft of a light vehicle, Odom faces up to 10 years behind bars and a $50,000 fine. A pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for Jan. 8.   

Odom was already facing one felony case when he allegedly stole the pickup. According to court records, he pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs on Oct. 16. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].